Introduction
Research Questions
- To what extent are there changes in the total number of home-based providers and the numbers of children that they serve? What data help us understand any changes?
- What do the data say about the use of public funding in home-based care?
This book of tables presents nationally representative estimates of home-based child care and early education (CCEE) providers serving children under age 13, using data from the 2019 and 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). Estimates are presented for individuals who regularly provide care in a home-based setting for children under age 13 who are not their own, including individuals who appear on state and national lists of child care and early education (CCEE) providers (here referred to as listed), and individuals drawn from an address-based sample of housing units screened for the presence of an adult in the household who cared for children not his or her own at least five hours per week in a home-based setting (here referred to as unlisted). Listed and unlisted home-based providers discussed in this book of tables include both paid and unpaid providers of care.
This book of tables provides counts of providers and the children they served in 2024 and 2019 as well as describes the characteristics of the providers themselves and the care they provided in 2024, in comparison to characteristics and care provided in 2019. Included among personal characteristics are health outcomes of providers, such as health insurance coverage, self-reported health status, and risk of depression as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D-SF).
Purpose
The purpose of this book of tables is to present nationally representative estimates of home-based child care and early education (CCEE) providers serving children under age 13, using data from the 2019 and 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). Estimates are presented for three types of home-based CCEE providers: listed home-based providers, unlisted paid home-based providers, and unlisted unpaid home-based providers.
For each of these three types of providers, we provide:
- national counts of providers and the children they serve in different age groups
- personal characteristics of providers, including:
- individual characteristics such as provider age, years of experience, number of additional years expected to care for children, education and certification, whether the provider is a relationship-based provider, their main reason for caring for children, main perceived responsibility when looking after children, and provider race/ethnicity
- health outcomes such as health insurance coverage, health status, and risk of depression
- household economic characteristics such as share of prior year household income from providing child care services, SNAP receipt, and ability to pay for an emergency cost
- program characteristics of providers, including:
- number of children served, types of income received, whether provider has common characteristics of listed care, presence of paid assistants, weekly hours of care, non-standard hours of care, total enrollment, paid enrollment, and subsidy enrollment
Key Findings and Highlights
Counts
- In 2024, 81,600 listed home-based providers served 668,000 children under age 13. In 2019, 91,200 listed home-based providers served 782,000 children.
- In 2024, 892,000 unlisted paid home-based providers served 3,640,000 children under age 13. In 2019, 1,050,000 unlisted paid home-based providers served 3,340,000 children.
- In 2024, 3,650,000 unlisted unpaid home-based providers served 6,830,000 children under age 13. In 2019, 4,030,000 unlisted unpaid home-based providers served 7,380,000 children under age 13.
Experience
- 42% of listed providers had more than 20 years of experience in 2024, an increase compared with 33% in 2019.
- About half (45%) of unlisted paid providers had 5 or fewer years of experience caring for children under 13.
- About half (46%) of unlisted unpaid providers had 5 or fewer years of experience caring for children other than their own.
Public Funding
- In 2024, 28% of listed providers reported caring for at least one child receiving a child care subsidy. This was a decrease from the 35% of listed providers who reported caring for any children receiving subsidies in 2019. Similar percentages of providers in 2024 (50%) and 2019 (46%) reported receiving reimbursements from any government agencies in the prior calendar year.
- In 2024, 5% of unlisted paid providers reported at least one child in their care receiving a child care subsidy. This was similar to the 5% of unlisted paid providers who reported any children receiving subsidies in 2019. Similar percentages of providers in 2024 (9%) and 2019 (6%) reported receiving reimbursements from any government agencies in the prior calendar year.
Methods
This book of tables draws from data collected in the 2019 and 2024 NSECE Home-based Provider Surveys. Each survey was conducted with individuals who regularly provide care in a home-based setting for children under age 13 who are not their own. The 2019 and 2024 Home-based Provider Surveys included listed and unlisted providers. Listed home-based providers were sampled from state or national administrative lists of early care and education services. Unlisted home-based providers were drawn from an address-based sample of housing units screened for the presence of an adult in the household who cared for children not his or her own at least five hours per week in a home-based setting.
Analyses reported in this book of tables use the following approximate numbers of cases from each round of data: Listed Home-based Providers [2019: 4,230; 2024: 3,780], Unlisted Paid Home-based Providers [2019: 390; 2024: 260], and Unlisted Unpaid Home-based Providers [2019: 1,290; 2024: 810].
Tables report results of statistical significance tests that compare 2024 estimates to their corresponding 2019 estimates, when available. We only report changes between 2019 and 2024 — using terms such as increases, declines, growth, or falls — when the difference is statistically significant at the 5 percent level. Otherwise, we report both the 2019 and 2024 numbers without indicating that the two numbers are statistically different.
Citation
S Kabourek, J Borton, S Bell, T Nwanne and A R Datta (2026). NSECE Home-based Child Care and Early Education Providers: Counts and Characteristics. Report No. 2026-010, Washington DC: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://acf.gov/opre/project/national-survey-early-care-and-education.
This product was finalized and published after March 2026, reflecting ACF's updated approach in which some research portfolios were realigned to be embedded in the ACF offices that manage the programs. Consistent with this approach, this product was reviewed and approved by leadership of the Office of Child Care.
Related Documents
- Chartbook: Home-based Early Care and Education Providers in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics https://acf.gov/opre/report/home-based-early-care-and-education-providers-2012-and-2019-counts-and-characteristics
- Fact Sheet: Who is Providing Home-Based Early Care and Education? https://acf.gov/opre/report/fact-sheet-who-providing-home-based-early-care-and-education
- Characteristics of Home-based Early Care and Education Providers: Initial Findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education https://acf.gov/opre/report/characteristics-home-based-early-care-and-education-providers-initial-findings-national
- Geographic Distribution of Children and Child Care and Early Education Providers in 2012 and 2019 https://acf.gov/opre/report/geographic-distribution-children-and-child-care-and-early-education-providers-2012-and
Quick Fact Images
Number of Home-based Providers, by Type of Home-based Provider and Year
Number of Children under Age 13 Served, by Type of Home-based Provider and Year
Glossary
- Home-based providers:
- Individuals that care for child(ren) under age 13 who are not their own for at least five hours weekly in a residential setting.
- Listed home-based providers:
- Individuals that provide CCEE in a home-based setting to child(ren) under age 13 who are not their own for at least five hours weekly and who appeared on state or national lists of early care and education services, such as licensed, regulated, license-exempt, or registered home-based providers. States use these terms with varying definitions and attach varying levels of program and professional standards, oversight, and monitoring. Almost all listed providers care for children in the provider’s own home.
- Unlisted paid home-based providers:
- Individuals that did not appear on state or national lists, but were identified in households through a household screener when someone reported regularly caring for children not their own at least five hours per week in a home-based setting. Individuals in this category received payment for providing care for at least one child that they cared for. Providers may care for a child in the provider’s home, the child’s home, or another location.
- Unlisted unpaid home-based providers :
- Individuals that did not appear on state or national lists, but were identified in households when someone reported regularly caring for children not their own at least five hours per week in a home-based setting. Individuals in this category did not receive payments for the care they provided. This category includes family and friends who may or may not live in the same household as the children they regularly look after. Providers may care for a child in the provider’s home, the child’s home, or another location.